NOW LIVE! Today's the day you meet your new best friend. You don’t have to leave Wolfy behind... In 'Pets & Sidekicks' your companions level up with you!

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Guest&nbsp; 85555" data-source="post: 9257241">I think this is one reason why I have so much trouble fitting into the categories I see people discuss about RPG styles. I do want a believable consistent setting, but I don't want rules aiming to simulate reality or to reflect an underpinning of physics. I feel like the rules are tools that can help achieve that aim among other things. But once a system gets deeply engineered or commits fully to this level of parity, it starts to feel more artificial to me than an actual simulation of anything. With character creation this is particularly an issue. I think most people are good with the idea that if an NPC swings a sword and a PC swings a sword, they ought to use the same mechanic for that. But the assortment of choices presented for elves at character creation isn't necessarily a reflection of the realities of the world. It is choices specific to players. I think the worlds start to look boring if you imagine everything in it flowing from the same set of principles underlying character creation. In his OP (or perhaps it was a later post) [USER=42582]@pemerton[/USER] pointed to the issue of this impinging on creativity(and I think he had more narrative concerns in mind) but this also applies to people concerned with creating a believable and consistent world. The inhabitants of the world really feel more like video game figures than people if the GM is bound to the same set of mechanics and choices as the players for making NPCs and monsters. And even when believability and setting consistency are important, the creativity that [USER=42582]@pemerton[/USER] pointed to is also important because we are talking about games with supernatural elements that do draw on movies, books, etc for inspiration. If I can't make a cursed NPC or have to strictly do so by the laws of character creation, spells and the monster manual, I don't know....that just doesn't breathe life into a setting for me But then you just start playing the system itself and not really engaging the world IMO. Decisions about what rules to use shouldn't be arbitrary but the problem with having a rule for everything and rules as physics is in many individual cases they will feel a lot more arbitrary than if the system were more open</blockquote>

Verification